Shrimp ID

[Gonzo74]

I got this shrimp when I purchased some peppermint shrimp at my LFS. He does not look like the others. He has grown in size, a lot, and has a shell that looks like a Mandarin Goby. Purple and blue swirls on the shell. I know it’s a bad picture, but can someone help me ID this?

 

[Gonzo74]

I found a couple of picture of people posting peppermint shrimp that look bluish purple. Maybe it is a peppermint shrimp?

 

[Muttley000]

Can you catch a pic with your flash?

 

[Lloyd Williams]

Might be a camel shrimp. They look an awful lot like peppermint shrimp

 

[DSC reef]

@Gonzo74 try to snap a few more pics. Definitely not a peppermint from what I can tell in the pic.

 

[DSC reef]

Look up lysmata californica, also know as the red rock shrimp.

 

[Gonzo74]

I will try and catch some more pictures. He is quick to hide when he sees me.

 

[DSC reef]

Heres a pic of one for you we found.

 

[Gonzo74]

Yes! It looks like that but more purple than red.

 

[Gonzo74]

Could be my lights

 

[cristata.reef]

It is a peppermint, specifically a Lysmata multiscissa. I have a bit of a pet-peeve with suppliers not being able to ID their corals and inverts correctly but what can I expect, I'm a marine biologist and they're usually not lol.

These guys used to all be considered L. wurdemanni until recently. Folks in the hobby haven't really caught on yet.

Also shrimp (and animal coloration in general) is highly variable within a species. We look for minute differences in the general shape of the pattern on the shrimp's carapace to ID species in this complex.

 

[DSC reef]

Do you have any pics specifically of multiscissa? I believe californica is basically an imposter peppermint shrimp but what makes this shrimp specifically multiscissa? Generally curious. The pics I've seen look a bit different from the OP.

 

[cristata.reef]

Do you have any pics specifically of multiscissa? I believe californica is basically an imposter peppermint shrimp but what makes this shrimp specifically multiscissa? Generally curious. The pics I've seen look a bit different from the OP.

L. californica is a coldwater species native to the reefs of SoCal (where I live) and introduced to the waters of New Zealand. These guys are tolerant of waters as low as 60 degrees and up to 70-ish. Also there are more than half a dozen imposters of the L. wurdemanni.

My friend Lemon wrote this article a while back. To date it is the only accurately IDed picture of the shrimp I can find. I've seen pictures of the shrimp, but often IDed as something else
https://reefbuilders.com/2012/04/16/lysmata-cleaner-shrimps/

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

I'm sorry but Lysmata multiscissa looks nothing like the picture the OP posted.

Lysmata Californica are not purposely collected for the home tropical aquarium trade, but, unfortunately sometimes show up and is misidentified as the "Peppermint Shrimp" and because of its origin in cool waters, does not effectively control unwanted Aiptasia anemones or remain healthy in warm waters. All this information is awesome. Always love learning new things.

 

[cristata.reef]

I'm sorry but Lysmata multiscissa looks nothing like the picture the OP posted.

Lysmata Californica are not purposely collected for the home tropical aquarium trade, but, unfortunately sometimes show up and is misidentified as the "Peppermint Shrimp" and because of its origin in cool waters, does not effectively control unwanted Aiptasia anemones or remain healthy in warm waters. All this information is awesome. Always love learning new things.

That is not an L. multiscissa. As I said there are no correctly IDed pictures of it on the internet at the moment so a google search of the species will not solve the problem.

Note the whorled stripe on the carapace. L. multiscissa is the only species that has that feature

 

[Gonzo74]

Wow! Thanks guys. My tank stays at 78, so if this is a cold water shrimp, not sure it will last.

 

[DSC reef]

Wow! Thanks guys. My tank stays at 78, so if this is a cold water shrimp, not sure it will last.

Your welcome! I'd leave it be and see how it does. Mistakes happen in collection I'm sure. It's a nice looking shrimp.